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Today marks the beginning of another school year, and though I’m excited to get back into the classroom, I feel much less so about leaving A. She has great daycare, but my schedule this year is a little tighter than last and lands us at home around 4:30 every day, instead of 3:30. A celebrated last night by waking up about five times — thank God Jason is the one who does the back and forth to the crib, or I’d be an even more tired Mama. Along with the return to school comes the return to pumping and scalding my milk because of the extra lipase that makes it really disgusting for poor A if it’s frozen (tastes just like soapy water). I’m hoping to post about that soon, but it’s such a process that the thought of taking photos of it has been overwhelming in the past.

In terms of exercise, I maintained last week, dropping about a half pound, despite not tracking food via WW and just enjoying my last week of freedom with an evening beer after the little one went to bed most nights. I did complete T25 Beta, but ended the week with so much hip pain and lower back achiness that I’m taking a week off to focus on yoga and core building. I’m not sure my post partum body was ready for Beta yet (even though it seemed really fun!), and I’m considering another round of T25 Alpha before I move on. A lot of reading I’ve done suggests a week off between Alpha and Beta to protect knees and hips from the jumping, but I’m still weighing my options once I get through seven days of twice daily 20 minute yoga work.

Goals for the Week:

Survive the 4 a.m. Alarm Clock – One Day Down, Four to Go!

Live healthily by packing my own lunches, drinking my new Klean Kanteen of water (40 ozs) at work every day, and getting in those 40 minutes of yoga.

Limit caffeine – one cup of coffee a day at school – that teacher’s room pot is sometimes such a siren song…

Make dinner every night – no takeout! We did takeout pizza last week, and I felt so gross afterwards… then we did pizza on the grill at home and it was So. Much. Better – no grease, healthy toppings, happier tummy!

I haven’t talked a lot about this here, but I’ve thrown my back out twice since having A. And I’m not talking little pull, I’m talking trip to the physical therapist with intense therapy and take home exercises. The last time, she suggested I sharply increase my cardio and ab work, and after month of healing and increasing my fitness level, I bought T25 and spent last week doing a week of the modified program. As such, I’m going to call this week my first week, and I’m hoping to chronicle my progress here, along with a series I’m going to call We Eat/She Eats because introducing a tiny person to solids is so much more time consuming than I expected.

Goals for the Week:

Cut out some of the sugar. Jason has an extremely active job. He burns calories like a machine, so he can get away with eating a lot of things that I shouldn’t (and can’t). As such, I do a lot of baking for him. Baking that I sometimes sample with my morning coffee. This week, I’m trying to cut back and focus on natural sugars: fruits & veggies, using a square or two of dark chocolate for dessert.

I’m also hoping to get back to drinking water like I was before we went on vacation (for me that’s somewhere in the range of 100 – 120 ounces a day), which I desperately need to keep hydrated while nursing A in this very warm weather.

Complete Week One of T25 using only the modifications necessary to protect my back. So far, so good – I wrapped up day one at 5:15 a.m.

We Eat/She Eats – Week One

Disclaimer: I’m NOT a doctor or dietician. A is still primarily breastfed, and we’re feeding her along the guidelines of our pediatrician. She has done purees successfully but now wants finger foods, so that’s where we are — tiny bite sized bits that she scoops up with great abandon.

A few notes. We typically eat local, hormone and antibiotic free meat (much of the chicken we raise ourselves). Veggies at this time of year come from the grocery store, but are slowly being supplemented by our garden produce. Beyond that, while Jason & I don’t eat a totally organic diet, we do the best we can to ensure that what Amelia eats is as safe and pesticide free as possible.